2011 TW Weight Loss club

I brought up this idea after reading some of the posts in the Gastric Bypass thread. Before I post my fitness/weight loss goals for all the world to see, I would like to see who else is interested in posting theirs. Perhaps we can help each other out as the year progresses in this thread. Anyone else? Bueller?

Mmmm, I don't really have a weight loss goal, other than to avoid pigging out such that I need to worry about losing weight.

I certainly have dietary goals. And I wouldn't mind noting my weight now and noting it again at the end so that I could see if it had changed.

For the record, when I say I would "note my weight," I do not mean that I would give you people an actual number. No way. The opening weight would be "0", and the subsequent weight would be plus or minus a number.

I would be in for this. I'm about 10 pounds over my summertime playing weight at the moment and I've been pretty lazy the last few months. I did pick up a TRX over the holidays and have been using it regularly, but it's not enough. I know I really need to sign up for a fitness bootcamp, but with my kids schedules, the only time I have is from 6am-7am which is not fun....

I started my "diet" the second week of November. I'm 6' 1" and started out @ ~250lbs. This weight is pretty unnatural and unusual for me. I got this heavy basically on purpose. Doing a weightlifting / bulking thing. This morning I weighted 227lbs.

My goal weight is 195-200lbs. I hope to reach that by July 1.

My plan is a combination of diet and exercise. I follow what I call a High/Medium/Low (H/L/M) model. So I vary my calories and exercise each day. Hopefully you understand what I mean.

For example, yesterday I had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, a can of chicken for lunch, and chicken and rice for dinner. No snacks. This is a "low calorie" day. I combined that with 2 hours of tennis singles in the morning and interval running in the evening.

Today I will up the calories, but still remain in deficit. For exercise I did a bit of deadlifting and ran for 30 minutes at pace.

Tomorrow I will probably up my calories to "full maintenance" (or above) and probably do some easy weights and an easy run.

Wednesday will probably be another "low calorie / high exercise" day. But, I will see how I feel.

The cycle will continue pretty much as I've written above. Sunday will probably be another "low calorie / high exercise" day.

My goal is to lose 2lbs. / week for the next ~2 months. Until I get down to ~215lbs. Then more like 1lb-1.5lbs. / week......and I have to work harder for less weight loss.

Realistically, I am about 30 pounds overweight, maybe 35, but at this point, my goal is to lose 10 pounds to start off. As I'm sitting here feeling the ache and stiffness in my lower back, that first ten pounds feels like Everest. I really need to get in for a back x-ray but in the meantime, I will continue to do my various home workout DVD's in the middle of the day once my back has loosened up a bit.

I won't actually be weighing myself because I believe our home scale is inaccurate. I will measure my weight loss by which clothes start to fit me again and the way I look in the mirror.

I just spent the winter on a bulkiing diet with a heavy lifting exercise cycle. My weight is currently (or was as of 1/3/11) 205, up from 187-190 at the end of the playing season.

The lifting cycle will continue through the end of this month. At that point, I will transition into a more cardio/plyo focused exercise plan from Feb-Apr to prepare for the start of the USTA season.

My diet is already transitioning back to a slow cut. I am currently at a 200 calorie deficit which will increase to a 500 calorie deficit by the end of the month, and I hope to lose about 5lbs a month at a 500 calorie deficit through April back to the 185-190 range (although hopefully with more muscle this summer).

I don't think the zig-zag diet really helps as much as just making sure your average daily intake over the month is at your target regardless of when you get it. The complicated zig-zag diet is effective for bodybuilders who need to lose that last tricky bit of bf from 7%-5% for shows. For the rest of us, I think a regular deficit diet will get you where you want to go as well as the zig-zag diet. Unless, of course, zig-zagging helps you stay on target overall. If that is the case, then go for it.

I don't think the zig-zag diet really helps as much as just making sure your average daily intake over the month is at your target regardless of when you get it. Unless, of course, zig-zagging helps you stay on target overall. If that is the case, then go for it.

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Zig-zagging does 3 main things for me:

1) It seems to keep my metabolism higher. If I just do regular, steady dieting, it seems like my body adjusts and simply burns less instead of burning reserves.

2) I do like not having to stay strict and like being able to eat "bad" foods fairly often.

3) I don't feel weak and low energy on my diet because I am not in deficit for extended periods. This is both a physical and mental benefit.

I also don't like being too structured. My zig-zag is just a loose outline of a diet. On any given day, I really just go by feel.

I want to loose another 15 lb and get down to 205.
I changed by eating habits back in October and I've dropped 10 lb since.
I can really tell a difference in my quickness so that has kept me motivated.

I would be in for this. I'm about 10 pounds over my summertime playing weight at the moment and I've been pretty lazy the last few months. I did pick up a TRX over the holidays and have been using it regularly, but it's not enough. I know I really need to sign up for a fitness bootcamp, but with my kids schedules, the only time I have is from 6am-7am which is not fun....

Yeah, I could stand for a some fat loss. I have a bit of a spare tire in front (not a gut, but it's still there )

Anyone got good fat burning exercises that isn't long, boring cardio?

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Change your diet first. Eating at a caloric deficit is by far the biggest key to fat loss.

As far as exercise, I think the best is high intensity interval training (HIIT). This can be done with any exercise where you alternate short bursts of full exertion within a longer low-intensity cardio workout. For example, with running, I will jog laps at the gym and sprint the straightaways on 2 of every 4 laps. This will cut down significantly on the amount of time you have to spend on the cardio (i.e. 20 mins of interval sprints is worth at least 45 of just plain jogging). If you don't like running, you can do any exercise the same way alternating low and high intensity. The other benefit for tennis players is that tennis itself is a series of high intensity intervals with a lot of rest time in between, so this type of cardio training is very closely related to the flow of the game itself (much more close than just jogging 4 miles or something).

Holidays weren't bad for me, I think I lost weight. I use to be 142lbs early november, but after christmas was 135lbs. I've gained a couple pounds, but i think its more from hitting the gym and gaining muscle.

I'd like to stay in the 135-139 range with more lean muscle and retain my conditioning and speed

That almost looks like Crossfit (which I won't do because they seem to forgo correct form for speed, and my back can't handle it anyway). I might try those exercises slowly and methodically, looks like they would be good strength builders for me.

I'm not looking to lose any wt, but here are my fitness goals for 2011:

1) exercise more often.
2) attain more upper and lower body flexibility.
3) do more yoga (which should help w/#2)
4) get rid of my on-and-off again right achilles injury. Not bad, just an
occasional ache.
5) get a little stronger & leaner.

82kg! Aiming for 79kg for the end of the month. As you can tell I'm not too concerned because I'm 6'1 and being 15 I still have a fare bit to grow (I suppose). Weight will go up as I get taller I suppose.

82kg! Aiming for 79kg for the end of the month. As you can tell I'm not too concerned because I'm 6'1 and being 15 I still have a fare bit to grow (I suppose). Weight will go up as I get taller I suppose.

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At 15, concern yourself with a proper healthy diet and exercise. Don't try to lose weight while you are still growing (unless you are obese and a doctor tells you to, which doesn't seem like the case with you).

283 at present want to get down to 250. 235 probably would be perfect but I don't know if I feel like abusing myself that much.

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Take it step by step. I lost from 250 to 185, but it took 6 years. If you view weight loss as a sustainable lifestyle instead of a "diet", you're more likely to achieve and maintain your goal, but it might just take longer to get there.

At 15, concern yourself with a proper healthy diet and exercise. Don't try to lose weight while you are still growing (unless you are obese and a doctor tells you to, which doesn't seem like the case with you).

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I was 99kg earlier this year, but am still considering going down because I still have a fare bit of fat surrounding the abdominal area and chest, so weight loss and light weight training will help. I am also hoping that this weight loss will help me with my knee more than it has already.

Ano, welcome back! Happy New Year! I hope you can provide more words of health and fitness wisdom over time. For instance, I'd love to hear your opinion on the need to "bulk up" so much when lifting, then have to "cut" deeply. (It seems to me calorie/protein intake is often overdone in the lifting phase.)

Yeah, I could stand for a some fat loss. I have a bit of a spare tire in front (not a gut, but it's still there )

Anyone got good fat burning exercises that isn't long, boring cardio?

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Ano gave you some great suggestions for inside work, as did JRB.

Here's another. Long Treadmill, cycling, rowing, stair-stepping and cross-country skiing exercises bore me to tears. But one to two minutes on each at high speed (HIIT like), then moving on to the next and the next for some reason keeps my interest high.

And for outside work, often I'll go on HIIT runs, and use different routes. Yesterday I ran to my local college, did a bunch of sprints, sidestepping and carioca steps, and agilitly drills on the multiple soft athletic fields, and ran back home.
Another favorite run is to some hilly nearby woods. I'll sprint up the hills for power, coast along the flats (unless its a long section when I'll throw a sprint in), and sprint down the hills for increased foot speed.
If I feel my legs have taken too much of a pounding recently, I'll switch over to a bike ride.

Just for kicks, I'll often use one of those heart rate monitors. There's something about numbers that motivates a lot of people. Constantly keeping the heart rate above 150, and pushing it into the 160's and 170's on the sprints can really alleviate any boredom.

Here's another. Long Treadmill, cycling, rowing, stair-stepping and cross-country skiing exercises bore me to tears. But one to two minutes on each at high speed (HIIT like), then moving on to the next and the next for some reason keeps my interest high.

And for outside work, often I'll go on HIIT runs, and use different routes. Yesterday I ran to my local college, did a bunch of sprints, sidestepping and carioca steps, and agilitly drills on the multiple soft athletic fields, and ran back home.
Another favorite run is to some hilly nearby woods. I'll sprint up the hills for power, coast along the flats (unless its a long section when I'll throw a sprint in), and sprint down the hills for increased foot speed.
If I feel my legs have taken too much of a pounding recently, I'll switch over to a bike ride.

Just for kicks, I'll often use one of those heart rate monitors. There's something about numbers that motivates a lot of people. Constantly keeping the heart rate above 150, and pushing it into the 160's and 170's on the sprints can really alleviate any boredom.

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I use a heart moniter as well. And Charlie is right. For me it really enhances especially cardio and HIIT workouts. Mine can tell you afterwards how long you were in a 'training zone'. It also has alarms that can be set where you want to go off if You drop out or go over the training zone heart rate. Pretty slick really.

Ano, welcome back! Happy New Year! I hope you can provide more words of health and fitness wisdom over time. For instance, I'd love to hear your opinion on the need to "bulk up" so much when lifting, then have to "cut" deeply. (It seems to me calorie/protein intake is often overdone in the lifting phase.)

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I don’t like the idea about bulking. (Bulking= eating as much as possible in the hope of gaining more muscle and at the same time accepting a large body fat gain).

You can't force your body to add more muscle simply by eating more. Once you reach a point where you are consuming as many nutrients as your body can use to build muscle , simply eating more food won't give you more muscle growth. Instead it'll lead to an increase in weight in the form of body fat.

By bulking up, you would be fat most of the time. Is getting fat eight - ten months out of the year what you're really after? I don't think so. Most of the weight trainees want to look good all year long!

If you lift weight to gain muscle, instead of eating as much as possible, it’s better to eat 15- 20 % more calories above maintenance.

I don’t like the idea about bulking. (Bulking= eating as much as possible in the hope of gaining more muscle and at the same time accepting a large body fat gain).

You can't force your body to add more muscle simply by eating more. Once you reach a point where you are consuming as many nutrients as your body can use to build muscle , simply eating more food won't give you more muscle growth. Instead it'll lead to an increase in weight in the form of body fat.

By bulking up, you would be fat most of the time. Is getting fat eight - ten months out of the year what you're really after? I don't think so. Most of the weight trainees want to look good all year long!

If you lift weight to gain muscle, instead of eating as much as possible, it’s better to eat 15- 20 % more calories above maintenance.

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Thanks for replying.

Since this is a tennis forum, I was never keen on the idea that you had to way overeat to ensure you were getting enough calories/protein to insure that you were making strength gains. Especially with the idea of then eating too little while increasing aeorbic/anaerobic workouts to the lose the weight you just put on. It seems like there has got to be a better middle ground.

I am not sure that bulking is really necessary to gain the athletic benefits of weight training. Mostly bulk cut cycles are utilized by body builders looking to maximize muscle gain. Athletes can use the increased protein synthesis from training along with a well balanced diet to slowly adds strength and flexibility over time.

I need to lose 30-40 lbs. I have played zero tennis since July 2010, due to shoulder injury/surgery in Sept. 2010. In PT now and therapist says goal is to start hitting balls in April. Gotta get to a better playing weight; at this weight my knees kill me trying to support the extra load.

Since this is a tennis forum, I was never keen on the idea that you had to way overeat to ensure you were getting enough calories/protein to insure that you were making strength gains. Especially with the idea of then eating too little while increasing aeorbic/anaerobic workouts to the lose the weight you just put on. It seems like there has got to be a better middle ground.

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It is definitely easier to add muscle if you are lifting and eating over your maintenance calories. You don't have to "eat as much as possible" and you do have to stick to a serious lifting regimen. If you just cycle overeating and cutting, you will gain and lose fat and muscle in the same ratios and end up no better than you started. The idea is to overeat during a heavy lifting cycle to maximize the muscle that you add as you add weight and then cut gradually to minimize the muscle that you lose as you cut so that you end up at the same weight but with more muscle. My diet is very carefully calculated to eat 500 calories over my maintenance (3200) during the bulking phase and 500 under my maintenance (2200) during the cutting, so that each is gradual.

1) It seems to keep my metabolism higher. If I just do regular, steady dieting, it seems like my body adjusts and simply burns less instead of burning reserves.

2) I do like not having to stay strict and like being able to eat "bad" foods fairly often.

3) I don't feel weak and low energy on my diet because I am not in deficit for extended periods. This is both a physical and mental benefit.

I also don't like being too structured. My zig-zag is just a loose outline of a diet. On any given day, I really just go by feel.

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Can I pass off my haphazard habit of eating a modest amount of calories for a few days in a row and then losing my willpower and pigging out for a day, before returning to the modest intake for a couple of more days, as a sophisticated and effective 'zig zag' diet?